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A nice AU, although for now I find it hard not to be cautious about AUs (reading Gretchen's profile seems to have done that to me ). But sigh, it seems like these two just NEED to get into a screwed up situation before they get along.

About fanfics in general, I believe PMMM will still get a fair bit. It's popular, it has several dozens hosted at fanfiction.net even before it's finished (of course, a month-long hiatus and a sea of speculations are also a factor, but still), it... it is the only way for some people to spend more time with the characters who keep going down just as you get to like them. In this light, now wonder some take Kyouko's prayer as adressed to God, but actually directed at them. After all, these two would make brilliant magical girls in any other MG universe (have them enroll in TSAB and see the results), seeing them end their lives like that just because the plot is LESS than friendly to heroes of justice does seem unfair, especially to the genre fans. Ditto with Mami. On the other hand, if you feel that it was the character's lives wasted unfairly rather than the characters themselves... it speaks in favour of the authors.

On anothe note, ZipCode's crossover pack is updated. I was rather indifferent to all the chapters save the Little Mermaid one, but this... good Lord, Mami as Kamina?!! Gotta read this to the end. Thank the author for not replacing Boota with Kyuubey, at least.
Somehow I think Sayaka or Kyouko would make a better Kamina, but... I have my guesses about the author's choice.

I'm willing to give this fandom some leniency as far as AUs are concerned, since the way the series is going right now AUs may well be the only way for a (realistically written) fanfic to avoid the inevitably sad or otherwise bittersweet ending the anime is spiraling toward. And while for the series itself this is all well and good (and as contradictory as it is, giving us a truly happy ending at this stage would feel just weird), seeing fanfiction deviate from that would be nice. Even Matchmakers, which had what one might dare to say was a happy ending (for the main characters, anyway), was decisively bittersweet in nature. Mami

As for fanfiction on the whole, I won't dispute the possibility of a reasonably large amount of fanfiction (if fanfiction for Code Geass back a few years ago can be used for reference, I'm hoping fanfiction for this series will follow its example and explode with activity once the series is done). This doesn't really change the fact though that this series doesn't easily lend itself to lengthy plots (and AUs are made slightly redundant by the fact that, you know, the series deals with five AUs that do nothing if not prove the futility of changing small aspects of events). And one-shots and small romance-centric stories are only going to be entertaining for so long; there's a much deeper story involved here, but it's one that can't easily be messed around with.

On a finishing note yes, Madoka as Simon is full of win. Mami as Kamina was something I am very happy not picturing, but the first thing I did after reading that was go digging (heh) for Gurren Lagann crossover fanart, particularly of the Madoka-as-Simon variety. It just... works, somehow.

I'm willing to give this fandom some leniency as far as AUs are concerned, since the way the series is going right now AUs may well be the only way for a (realistically written) fanfic to avoid the inevitably sad or otherwise bittersweet ending the anime is spiraling toward.

Too bad some do not take this opportunity, eh?

After reading this one, I'm ready to accept any ending PMMM throws at us, because I don't believe it will be THAT extreme.

I currently have a plotbunny for the series, but I'm somewhat concerned about it since it's only a slight AU from the series, unless I ignore some of the finer details and make it a purely humor story.

I currently have a plotbunny for the series, but I'm somewhat concerned about it since it's only a slight AU from the series, unless I ignore some of the finer details and make it a purely humor story.

So do I (have a slightly AU idea, that is); and even a slight AU is perfectly fine if you play it out right. Take for example something Snork (I think it was him) said in another thread; change the events following Sayaka learning about being "inhuman" by throwing her into a situation where she's forced to remember why she became a MG in the first place (following his example further, this could be another case of Madoka being drawn into a barrier). The event itself isn't that big or important on it own, but it has the potential to throw a relatively serious wedge in everything that happens after that point. I actually prefer that sort of AU to the sort that dismantles and reconstructs canon.

After reading this one, I'm ready to accept any ending PMMM throws at us, because I don't believe it will be THAT extreme.

Of course it won't. This fic introduced lots of new concepts into the story. You can't do that in the series proper, as all the important plot elements needs to be properly foreshadowed way beforehand.

I can't think of a series off hand that both shares themes present in Madoka and would work in a crossover with Madoka, but since I've never had much of a hand for crossovers to begin with (barring a weird Fairy Tail/Legend of Zelda crossover that never left the drawing board) that doesn't necessarily mean much. I'd be delighted to see this, though.

I'll try to read first those copies of Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse and see what I can do with such a possible fusion with the Madoka universe.

Of course it won't. This fic introduced lots of new concepts into the story. You can't do that in the series proper, as all the important plot elements needs to be properly foreshadowed way beforehand.

Actually, the fanfic seems to be all about the events and details the author chose to interpret as foreshadowing. Of course, he goes draws all the concepts based on worst case scenarios, which contributes both to horror and headscratching. I wrote a short review there, expressing my doubts, but then again, I don't know if I should have bothered. It's called fanfiction for a reason.

Quote:

As a fanfic it's kinda interesting though. Will keep reading!

So will I, but with a pack of antidepressants at hand. Even a stand-alone idea of Kyouko turning into a witch is enough to sink me into the depths of despair Nozomu Itoshiki has yet to imagine.
but this guy had better hurry, after next Thursday the whole project will lose all of its impact and relevance.

Instead of just posting ideas, I'd like to give you a little snapshot of a work in progress of mine. It was originally supposed to be the opening to the grand finale of a massive crossover saga I'm working on, but it was eventually axed in favor of a more Gainax-y opening. Or maybe it was intended as an alternate opening from the beginning. But mostly it's just what plays in my head whenever I hear Magia. o3o

For maximum foreshadowing, please picture demon!Madoka being voiced by Willa Holland and play a slowed down version of Magia in the background.

Run. Run, even if it makes your heart race in your chest like it’s about to explode. Run, even though your lungs hurt and your throat burns and your breath is short. Run as fast as you can, even if it feels like your muscles are slowly melting; for if you stop now, Homura, it’s all over.

The world had become warped and distorted by the barrier. Patterns and swirls appeared where they shouldn’t have been, turning like the wheels of fate that sent Madoka ever closer to her doom. All the scenery of the world was reduced to black and white; checkboards of light and shadow.

Homura ran up the final flight of stairs, forcing herself onwards. She didn’t have the strength for a time stop; needlessly depleting her magic would only make things worse at this point.

The final, heavy door to the outside swung open, allowing Homura to see the new hell that fate had spun for her.

Within this massive witch’s labyrinth, the city had been destroyed. Buildings were knocked over at odd angles; others floated high above the ground, in defiance of gravitational forces; and the massive clockwork witch hung in the sky, the gears that made up her body rotating like the patterns of her barrier. It was the strongest witch in the world, Walpurgis. A magical circle was just visible behind her, against a sky that was overcast and gray, predicting rain for all that remained after the battle; but something was different this time.
The clouds, the buildings, and the witch herself were all cast in an etheral blue glow, and a break in the clouds revealed a massive celestial body the likes of which Homura had never seen before; it looked like the moon, but what moon was in the perfect shape of a heart?

An unknown power resonated from the strange moon-like object through the witch’s labyrinth. In the depths of her Soul Gem, Homura felt it; not unlike the emotions within the labyrinth itself, but different. It was deeper, and infinitely more powerful, and by the light of the strange moon, Homura could see what had summoned it.

“M-Madoka!” She called. Madoka Kaname stood on the branch of an enormous, otherworldly tree, oblivious to Homura’s cry. Something was wrong, Homura’s instincts told her, something was horribly wrong; Madoka, who had been so glad to hear her friend call her by her first name, didn’t even turn around. Her magical outfit was different; the puffy skirt hung limp, dark and ragged around Madoka’s legs, and the bodice of her dress had its frills trimmed off and dyed black. The puffy sleeves were gone, and the entire ensemble clung close, revealing much more than the normal Madoka would ever have allowed. It was all black like shadows and red like blood, the utter opposite of Madoka’s usual style.

“It’s no use.” Said a voice from behind her; the voice that was always in her head and following her…

“Kyubey?” Homura asked, turning to the creature; his voice was friendly and his features were frozen in that horrible blank stare, like they always were; the so-called “Messanger of Magic” who had fooled Madoka, Homura herself, and all other Puella Magi into sacrificing their lives and becoming monsters.

“Madoka Kaname can no longer hear you where she is.” Kyubey went on, oblivious to Homura’s glare of hatred and clenched fists. Maybe he didn’t sense
the waves of loathing coming off her. Maybe he simply didn’t care.

“How do you know this?” Homura demanded; then, the loud clanging of a sword on metal drew her attention back to Madoka, out there against Walpurgis. On the battlefield, you could just see a tiny shadow fighting her massive foe.

“I hear her thoughts,” Kyubey said; there was more scraping of metal, a flash of light and an explosion, and one of the top gears that made up the witch fell off. “And they’re not hers. Something has happened to Madoka, and I can’t say I’ve seen anything like it before. Her body has somehow been possessed…”

Madoka - or the one who was not Madoka – let loose a massive blast of energy, like a lightning storm. Walpurgis did not seem to be affected, and one of the buildings floated over to Madoka like a massive missile. A second later, whatever weapon Madoka now possessed sliced it into harmless debris.

“Her Soul Gem is completely black, but she is not turning into a witch…”

Madoka landed on another building not fifty feet in front of Walpurgis. She raised her weapon, and a small light ignited at the tip. It quickly grew large and blinding, like the fires of the sun, but for a second before she had to shield her eyes, Homura could see an incredibly huge blade-like weapon in Madoka’s hands; its handle was formed by two large crossed key-like shapes.

“It’s almost as if the two are fused together now…”

When Homura opened her eyes, Kyubey and Walpurgis were gone, though the barrier persisted. The blue light from the odd moon backlit a shadow that was now nearly six feet from her – it was Madoka.

“Madoka…” Homura said, reaching out before hesitating – her friend seemed safe, but Kyubey had said she was no longer herself.

Madoka narrowed her eyes. Her gaze was no longer warm and compassionate. Her pink irises had turned bright, cold yellow, yet hot fires burned there, lusting for power and destruction.

Madoka’s right hand clenched around a weapon that appeared a second later – the crossed-key handle, ending in a branching mosaic of some unknown material that then focused and sharpened to an iridescent blade. The entire thing was longer than Madoka was tall, and Homura had no idea how her slight frame could possibly lift it.

Madoka raised her blade. Instinct overruled Homura’s indecision between trust and combat, and she dived to the left, Madoka stabbing through the air where her heart had been a second earlier.

“Madoka,” Homura called again, “What are you doing? Wake up!”

Madoka advanced, slowly and almost mockingly. “Who…” She said, but the voice was warped and distorted, almost as if another was saying the words with her and forcing her vocal chords to work, “is Madoka?”

She vanished; another flash-step. Homura reacted instinctively, and time froze, revealing that her possessed friend was an instant from cleaving her skull in two. Homura had no choice; her weapons were mundane, and made to kill, not merely incapacitate like another magical girl’s might’ve. She ran.

The time stop ceased a second later. Too much, Homura told herself, and she would go the way that all Puella Magi were intended to go. Like how Sayaka Miki had gone. Like how Madoka had gone, over and over and over…

But somehow, she knew that the monster following her was worse than any witch. The nameless fear and unease drove her onwards, as Homura lept through the broken windows of another building. She hated herself for abandoning her only friend, but what were her options? A gunshot or explosion would not exorcise whatever demon overshadowed Madoka. It was run away, or kill Madoka and the monster, and start over.

She wasn’t sure she could take that again.

The voice was behind her again. The one who was not Madoka was singing now.

“In my memories, you dream on…”

Homura turned, just in time to see the monster launch herself, blade unsheathed. Time froze, but for an instant, and Homura backed against a wall; time started and Madoka launched past, but did not overbalance, as planned, but rounded back and swung. Homura ducked and rolled, and Madoka struck the wall, leaving a deep gash. It was almost as if Madoka had known time was stopped and prepared herself…

And the song continued.

“I will no longer sleep tomorrow/to win that miracle where we met/I’ll move forward and fight…”

In this enclosed space with a weapon that large, she had no chance. Bracing herself and placing her shield in front of her face, Homura charged out one of the windows; glass flew everywhere, lacerating her arms and the side of her face. Time stopped again, and Homura used the falling blades of broken glass to leap away.

But Madoka, somehow, impossibly, was following her.

What? She can defy the time stops!?

There were no options left now. It was fight, or die. Homura withdrew one of her explosives and threw it. It hit the monster chasing her dead on and detonated. Homura missed one of her impromptu platforms and fell, down, down, down… watching the blossoming flower of the explosion. But a shadow emerged from it, like an oversized bat, following her.

Homura landed on another building, with a grenade ready; she tossed it, and once more, the one that was not Madoka erupted into flames. Homura scrambled back so as to not be caught in the blast, up against a guard rail. But like a demon from the depths of a hell of fire and brimstone, the shadow again emerged from the blaze. She was still singing.

“The imprisoned sun still shines…”

Homura lost it. Screaming, she withdrew one of the guns from her storage space, an M9 handgun, and pulled the trigger, over and over and over and over…

“…in the Wonderland I used to read about…”

The first shots hit all over Madoka’s chest, leaving dark holes and red splatters behind her. One, finally, hit her blackened Soul Gem, shattering it. It should have finished her. It should have made her drop dead, on the spot! But no, the monster kept stepping foreward. She didn’t even notice it.
Madoka’s voice dropped out of the song.

“My wishes will still come true/That’s what fairytales taught me/Amidst light and shadow…”

Double handguns now. Homura was firing over and over, lost in fear and panic. She had to stop it. This thing would kill her if she did not kill it first. And if she fell, it was all over for Madoka, forever…

A sickening crack, followed by a splattering sound, accompanied by a red spray of blood, skull fragments and gray matter. One of the gunshots had taken off part of Madoka’s skull and the west hemisphere of her brain, revealing the slimy white remnants, oozing slightly out the remains of her head.

Her body went limp and toppled over. Homura let out a breath of relief. It was over. Time would reset itself soon. She could start again, like she had done the second time, the fifth time, the tenth time, the hundredth time…

The stress caught up with her, and Homura’s eyes began to water. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and her chest hitched with sobs. How many times had she watched Madoka die? How many times, like this one, had she been forced to kill her herself?

Be strong, said a tiny voice in her head. The next time will be better. That voice had been so loud in the past. But it was growing weaker. Weaker all the time…
Lost in her own despair, Homura didn’t see the supposedly dead girl’s fingers twitch.

“That was a very good try,”

Homura’s heart seemed to stop.

Lurching a like a zombie, the so-called corpse sat up, the right side of her body limp. Scratching at her exposed brain, the dead girl tried to stand, stumbled, then summoned a weapon like a large, black key to use as a crutch.

Terrified, and unable to comprehend what she was seeing, Homura was frozen in place. She couldn’t react, even as the monster controlling her friend’s corpse picked her up by the throat with cooling fingers, lifting her up into the air. Homura wanted to look away, away from the shattered skull, exposed muscle and brain, and a left eyeball that was dislodged from its socket, swinging like some sort of twisted pendulum, but her eyes were locked into place.

“You got rid of that resistance for me, though. Thanks for that!”

How? How could her voice be so chipper? What was this thing?

“I know you won’t be around much longer, but thanks for the fun. I’ll see you again, and real soon. Okay?” The thing tilted its head to the side, smiling- no, not smiling. Showing teeth. Bloodstained teeth in a sick parody of a grin.

Homura took a final, deep breath and screamed. She screamed as loud and as long as the remaining air in her lungs would allow. The sand in the top part of the hourglass on her shield finally, finally ran out, and with a “click”, time reset itself.

Homura awoke in the hospital, one month earlier. She shot up out of bed, instinctively feeling for the clammy hands around her neck. But the monster was gone. She - it - was in a future hadn’t happened… yet.

Another Homura, one from a hundred years, from another lifetime ago, could’ve believed it was all a horrible nightmare. Another Homura could’ve believed the flames and the destruction and the carnage were just a terror that passed in the night, to be forgotten later that day. But no, she was locked into this destiny- doomed to repeat it over and over until she finally found a way out.

Every time it was different. If a rogue witch or Walpurgis didn’t finish off Madoka, Madoka always became a witch herself and went to end the world. At least, until Homura turned back time, to try and save her yet again.

Homura curled up in her hospital bed, letting everything wash over her. What had gone wrong this time?

She had never, not even in the wildest depths of a witch’s labyrinth, seen a moon shaped like a heart. That was the first conclusion she came to. But was that the cause, or an effect of the monster-Madoka?

What about the monster? The possessed Madoka? If, as Homura had learned once upon a time, a Puella Magi’s soul was in her Soul Gem, then that left her body an empty shell, correct? So something, or someone, was controlling Madoka’s body but possibly not her Soul Gem. But who would, or could, do something like that?

The voice. The voice that had spoken with Madoka, using her. It was familiar, but Homura couldn’t place it. It had been calm, not a lot of expressed emotion, and all the time had the tone of a reassuring older sister.

Think, Homura told herself, with this you could save Madoka’s life next time!

But could she?

Ehehehe, I'm a little nervous about posting this. ^^; I admit, the entire scene sort of ending in my head with time reseting and all... so the end part was kinda slapped on.

Instead of just posting ideas, I'd like to give you a little snapshot of a work in progress of mine. It was originally supposed to be the opening to the grand finale of a massive crossover saga I'm working on, but it was eventually axed in favor of a more Gainax-y opening. Or maybe it was intended as an alternate opening from the beginning. But mostly it's just what plays in my head whenever I hear Magia. o3o

For maximum foreshadowing, please picture demon!Madoka being voiced by Willa Holland and play a slowed down version of Magia in the background.

Run. Run, even if it makes your heart race in your chest like it’s about to explode. Run, even though your lungs hurt and your throat burns and your breath is short. Run as fast as you can, even if it feels like your muscles are slowly melting; for if you stop now, Homura, it’s all over.

The world had become warped and distorted by the barrier. Patterns and swirls appeared where they shouldn’t have been, turning like the wheels of fate that sent Madoka ever closer to her doom. All the scenery of the world was reduced to black and white; checkboards of light and shadow.

Homura ran up the final flight of stairs, forcing herself onwards. She didn’t have the strength for a time stop; needlessly depleting her magic would only make things worse at this point.

The final, heavy door to the outside swung open, allowing Homura to see the new hell that fate had spun for her.

Within this massive witch’s labyrinth, the city had been destroyed. Buildings were knocked over at odd angles; others floated high above the ground, in defiance of gravitational forces; and the massive clockwork witch hung in the sky, the gears that made up her body rotating like the patterns of her barrier. It was the strongest witch in the world, Walpurgis. A magical circle was just visible behind her, against a sky that was overcast and gray, predicting rain for all that remained after the battle; but something was different this time.
The clouds, the buildings, and the witch herself were all cast in an etheral blue glow, and a break in the clouds revealed a massive celestial body the likes of which Homura had never seen before; it looked like the moon, but what moon was in the perfect shape of a heart?

An unknown power resonated from the strange moon-like object through the witch’s labyrinth. In the depths of her Soul Gem, Homura felt it; not unlike the emotions within the labyrinth itself, but different. It was deeper, and infinitely more powerful, and by the light of the strange moon, Homura could see what had summoned it.

“M-Madoka!” She called. Madoka Kaname stood on the branch of an enormous, otherworldly tree, oblivious to Homura’s cry. Something was wrong, Homura’s instincts told her, something was horribly wrong; Madoka, who had been so glad to hear her friend call her by her first name, didn’t even turn around. Her magical outfit was different; the puffy skirt hung limp, dark and ragged around Madoka’s legs, and the bodice of her dress had its frills trimmed off and dyed black. The puffy sleeves were gone, and the entire ensemble clung close, revealing much more than the normal Madoka would ever have allowed. It was all black like shadows and red like blood, the utter opposite of Madoka’s usual style.

“It’s no use.” Said a voice from behind her; the voice that was always in her head and following her…

“Kyubey?” Homura asked, turning to the creature; his voice was friendly and his features were frozen in that horrible blank stare, like they always were; the so-called “Messanger of Magic” who had fooled Madoka, Homura herself, and all other Puella Magi into sacrificing their lives and becoming monsters.

“Madoka Kaname can no longer hear you where she is.” Kyubey went on, oblivious to Homura’s glare of hatred and clenched fists. Maybe he didn’t sense
the waves of loathing coming off her. Maybe he simply didn’t care.

“How do you know this?” Homura demanded; then, the loud clanging of a sword on metal drew her attention back to Madoka, out there against Walpurgis. On the battlefield, you could just see a tiny shadow fighting her massive foe.

“I hear her thoughts,” Kyubey said; there was more scraping of metal, a flash of light and an explosion, and one of the top gears that made up the witch fell off. “And they’re not hers. Something has happened to Madoka, and I can’t say I’ve seen anything like it before. Her body has somehow been possessed…”

Madoka - or the one who was not Madoka – let loose a massive blast of energy, like a lightning storm. Walpurgis did not seem to be affected, and one of the buildings floated over to Madoka like a massive missile. A second later, whatever weapon Madoka now possessed sliced it into harmless debris.

“Her Soul Gem is completely black, but she is not turning into a witch…”

Madoka landed on another building not fifty feet in front of Walpurgis. She raised her weapon, and a small light ignited at the tip. It quickly grew large and blinding, like the fires of the sun, but for a second before she had to shield her eyes, Homura could see an incredibly huge blade-like weapon in Madoka’s hands; its handle was formed by two large crossed key-like shapes.

“It’s almost as if the two are fused together now…”

When Homura opened her eyes, Kyubey and Walpurgis were gone, though the barrier persisted. The blue light from the odd moon backlit a shadow that was now nearly six feet from her – it was Madoka.

“Madoka…” Homura said, reaching out before hesitating – her friend seemed safe, but Kyubey had said she was no longer herself.

Madoka narrowed her eyes. Her gaze was no longer warm and compassionate. Her pink irises had turned bright, cold yellow, yet hot fires burned there, lusting for power and destruction.

Madoka’s right hand clenched around a weapon that appeared a second later – the crossed-key handle, ending in a branching mosaic of some unknown material that then focused and sharpened to an iridescent blade. The entire thing was longer than Madoka was tall, and Homura had no idea how her slight frame could possibly lift it.

Madoka raised her blade. Instinct overruled Homura’s indecision between trust and combat, and she dived to the left, Madoka stabbing through the air where her heart had been a second earlier.

“Madoka,” Homura called again, “What are you doing? Wake up!”

Madoka advanced, slowly and almost mockingly. “Who…” She said, but the voice was warped and distorted, almost as if another was saying the words with her and forcing her vocal chords to work, “is Madoka?”

She vanished; another flash-step. Homura reacted instinctively, and time froze, revealing that her possessed friend was an instant from cleaving her skull in two. Homura had no choice; her weapons were mundane, and made to kill, not merely incapacitate like another magical girl’s might’ve. She ran.

The time stop ceased a second later. Too much, Homura told herself, and she would go the way that all Puella Magi were intended to go. Like how Sayaka Miki had gone. Like how Madoka had gone, over and over and over…

But somehow, she knew that the monster following her was worse than any witch. The nameless fear and unease drove her onwards, as Homura lept through the broken windows of another building. She hated herself for abandoning her only friend, but what were her options? A gunshot or explosion would not exorcise whatever demon overshadowed Madoka. It was run away, or kill Madoka and the monster, and start over.

She wasn’t sure she could take that again.

The voice was behind her again. The one who was not Madoka was singing now.

“In my memories, you dream on…”

Homura turned, just in time to see the monster launch herself, blade unsheathed. Time froze, but for an instant, and Homura backed against a wall; time started and Madoka launched past, but did not overbalance, as planned, but rounded back and swung. Homura ducked and rolled, and Madoka struck the wall, leaving a deep gash. It was almost as if Madoka had known time was stopped and prepared herself…

And the song continued.

“I will no longer sleep tomorrow/to win that miracle where we met/I’ll move forward and fight…”

In this enclosed space with a weapon that large, she had no chance. Bracing herself and placing her shield in front of her face, Homura charged out one of the windows; glass flew everywhere, lacerating her arms and the side of her face. Time stopped again, and Homura used the falling blades of broken glass to leap away.

But Madoka, somehow, impossibly, was following her.

What? She can defy the time stops!?

There were no options left now. It was fight, or die. Homura withdrew one of her explosives and threw it. It hit the monster chasing her dead on and detonated. Homura missed one of her impromptu platforms and fell, down, down, down… watching the blossoming flower of the explosion. But a shadow emerged from it, like an oversized bat, following her.

Homura landed on another building, with a grenade ready; she tossed it, and once more, the one that was not Madoka erupted into flames. Homura scrambled back so as to not be caught in the blast, up against a guard rail. But like a demon from the depths of a hell of fire and brimstone, the shadow again emerged from the blaze. She was still singing.

“The imprisoned sun still shines…”

Homura lost it. Screaming, she withdrew one of the guns from her storage space, an M9 handgun, and pulled the trigger, over and over and over and over…

“…in the Wonderland I used to read about…”

The first shots hit all over Madoka’s chest, leaving dark holes and red splatters behind her. One, finally, hit her blackened Soul Gem, shattering it. It should have finished her. It should have made her drop dead, on the spot! But no, the monster kept stepping foreward. She didn’t even notice it.
Madoka’s voice dropped out of the song.

“My wishes will still come true/That’s what fairytales taught me/Amidst light and shadow…”

Double handguns now. Homura was firing over and over, lost in fear and panic. She had to stop it. This thing would kill her if she did not kill it first. And if she fell, it was all over for Madoka, forever…

A sickening crack, followed by a splattering sound, accompanied by a red spray of blood, skull fragments and gray matter. One of the gunshots had taken off part of Madoka’s skull and the west hemisphere of her brain, revealing the slimy white remnants, oozing slightly out the remains of her head.

Her body went limp and toppled over. Homura let out a breath of relief. It was over. Time would reset itself soon. She could start again, like she had done the second time, the fifth time, the tenth time, the hundredth time…

The stress caught up with her, and Homura’s eyes began to water. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and her chest hitched with sobs. How many times had she watched Madoka die? How many times, like this one, had she been forced to kill her herself?

Be strong, said a tiny voice in her head. The next time will be better. That voice had been so loud in the past. But it was growing weaker. Weaker all the time…
Lost in her own despair, Homura didn’t see the supposedly dead girl’s fingers twitch.

“That was a very good try,”

Homura’s heart seemed to stop.

Lurching a like a zombie, the so-called corpse sat up, the right side of her body limp. Scratching at her exposed brain, the dead girl tried to stand, stumbled, then summoned a weapon like a large, black key to use as a crutch.

Terrified, and unable to comprehend what she was seeing, Homura was frozen in place. She couldn’t react, even as the monster controlling her friend’s corpse picked her up by the throat with cooling fingers, lifting her up into the air. Homura wanted to look away, away from the shattered skull, exposed muscle and brain, and a left eyeball that was dislodged from its socket, swinging like some sort of twisted pendulum, but her eyes were locked into place.

“You got rid of that resistance for me, though. Thanks for that!”

How? How could her voice be so chipper? What was this thing?

“I know you won’t be around much longer, but thanks for the fun. I’ll see you again, and real soon. Okay?” The thing tilted its head to the side, smiling- no, not smiling. Showing teeth. Bloodstained teeth in a sick parody of a grin.

Homura took a final, deep breath and screamed. She screamed as loud and as long as the remaining air in her lungs would allow. The sand in the top part of the hourglass on her shield finally, finally ran out, and with a “click”, time reset itself.

Homura awoke in the hospital, one month earlier. She shot up out of bed, instinctively feeling for the clammy hands around her neck. But the monster was gone. She - it - was in a future hadn’t happened… yet.

Another Homura, one from a hundred years, from another lifetime ago, could’ve believed it was all a horrible nightmare. Another Homura could’ve believed the flames and the destruction and the carnage were just a terror that passed in the night, to be forgotten later that day. But no, she was locked into this destiny- doomed to repeat it over and over until she finally found a way out.

Every time it was different. If a rogue witch or Walpurgis didn’t finish off Madoka, Madoka always became a witch herself and went to end the world. At least, until Homura turned back time, to try and save her yet again.

Homura curled up in her hospital bed, letting everything wash over her. What had gone wrong this time?

She had never, not even in the wildest depths of a witch’s labyrinth, seen a moon shaped like a heart. That was the first conclusion she came to. But was that the cause, or an effect of the monster-Madoka?

What about the monster? The possessed Madoka? If, as Homura had learned once upon a time, a Puella Magi’s soul was in her Soul Gem, then that left her body an empty shell, correct? So something, or someone, was controlling Madoka’s body but possibly not her Soul Gem. But who would, or could, do something like that?

The voice. The voice that had spoken with Madoka, using her. It was familiar, but Homura couldn’t place it. It had been calm, not a lot of expressed emotion, and all the time had the tone of a reassuring older sister.

Think, Homura told herself, with this you could save Madoka’s life next time!

But could she?

Ehehehe, I'm a little nervous about posting this. ^^; I admit, the entire scene sort of ending in my head with time reseting and all... so the end part was kinda slapped on.

Jesus, that was good. I couldn't get a good mental image of a demon!Madoka for the sake of reading that (the closest I got was a deranged picture of her holding up a completely black Soul Gem I have saved somewhere), and the idea of something like that sharing Aqua's voice is disturbing, but that was awesome all the same. I can only assume where you were going with that idea, but Madoka here seemed ten times more creepy than Vanitas (assuming he was indeed who you derived the idea of her appearance from, as it seemed you did) could ever hope to be. Truly amazing.

Neither could I. The combined image of Madoka/Gretchen pops to mind instead. And I shoudn't have played Shin Megami Tensei games befroe reading this... bad timing, really.

I know literally nothing of Shin Megami Tensei, so if there were elements of that in there they flew happily over my head. The Kingdom Hearts elements, on the other hand, hit me with all the subtlety of a kangaroo kick to the face. Then again, they were right there in front of me, so...

On the topic of demon!Madoka, the pic I used for reference was this one. Probably not perfect, but everything about it is definitely dark (and screwed up; never forget screwed up) enough to fit the bill.

Hi, I'm back with more fan witches that need names. xD; Okay, so it's only one this time... looks like another KH character became a Puella Magi and went off the deep end... -w-

The stained glass witch. She has a "knight templar"-type personality. She continually devotes herself to destroying all the darkness of the world. Anyone with darkness in their heart who attempts to enter her barrier will be destroyed on-sight, but the pure hearted may stay. In fact, it could be said she desires their company.

The witch herself is a shifting creature made of stained glass; the lead lines between panes become her "outline." She can take on whatever shape she desires, but she prefers that of a humanoid. Sometimes, pictures like memories flash across the panes that make up her body.

When you enter this witch's barrier, it may, like most barriers, have pieces of scenery from the outside world. But everything will be brighter. There will be stained glass everywhere. The pathways will become stained glass, and soon the only solid footing will be round, stained glass towers against pure whiteness. Remember that the witch can strike from anywhere here.

I don't have any ideas for the witch's familiars yet, but I'm thinking something like little living throwing stars that can liquify themselves (actually, y'know what? That's perfect. I'll go with that).

The stained glass witch. She has a "knight templar"-type personality. She continually devotes herself to destroying all the darkness of the world. Anyone with darkness in their heart who attempts to enter her barrier will be destroyed on-sight, but the pure hearted may stay. In fact, it could be said she desires their company.

The witch herself is a shifting creature made of stained glass; the lead lines between panes become her "outline." She can take on whatever shape she desires, but she prefers that of a humanoid. Sometimes, pictures like memories flash across the panes that make up her body.

When you enter this witch's barrier, it may, like most barriers, have pieces of scenery from the outside world. But everything will be brighter. There will be stained glass everywhere. The pathways will become stained glass, and soon the only solid footing will be round, stained glass towers against pure whiteness. Remember that the witch can strike from anywhere here.

I don't have any ideas for the witch's familiars yet, but I'm thinking something like little living throwing stars that can liquify themselves (actually, y'know what? That's perfect. I'll go with that).

Yeah, I need names. Especially names for the familiars. xD;

So, um, when did Naminé become a Puella Magi? Whether that was who you were thinking of or not (it probably was), this is definitely her Witch.

Anyway, I'll be honest; when I read all of this, the name that came perfectly to mind for me was Saint Mary of all things. The name seemed a perfect fit with a Witch that seeks to eliminate all forms of darkness, and it maintains a connection between the Witch and Christianity (Knight Templars and all that). 'Course, it helps that the né in Naminé's name is French for "to be born", and I immediately drew a connection between that and Mary being the mother of Jesus.

As for the Familiar, I have absolutely nothing. Perhaps a name somehow tied in with Mary, but I don't know enough about her to supply you with any. Sorry 'bout that, and sorry again if this turns out to be a bad suggestion. Not sure how much I like the name Saint Mary myself, but I'll be damned if it's not fitting.

So, um, when did Naminé become a Puella Magi? Whether that was who you were thinking of or not (it probably was), this is definitely her Witch.

o.0 Namine? Wow, never thought someone would think of that. xD; I thought it was pretty obvious that she was Aqua's witch...

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Anyway, I'll be honest; when I read all of this, the name that came perfectly to mind for me was Saint Mary of all things. The name seemed a perfect fit with a Witch that seeks to eliminate all forms of darkness, and it maintains a connection between the Witch and Christianity (Knight Templars and all that). 'Course, it helps that the né in Naminé's name is French for "to be born", and I immediately drew a connection between that and Mary being the mother of Jesus.

Hm. Interesting. 0_o

I think I'll use the name. But mess with the spelling a little... like, Mari, or something like that.

I like the name Mari. o3o

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As for the Familiar, I have absolutely nothing. Perhaps a name somehow tied in with Mary, but I don't know enough about her to supply you with any. Sorry 'bout that, and sorry again if this turns out to be a bad suggestion. Not sure how much I like the name Saint Mary myself, but I'll be damned if it's not fitting.

Cin. I came up with it just now. From "Mari", a possible alternate spelling of "Mary", and a reference to Mari from Rebuild of Evangelion; Mari is first seen piloting Evangelion Provisional Unit 05. Cinque is Italian for "five", I'm fairly sure; that's also the name of the fifth Numbers Cyborg from Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Shorten Cinque and you get "Cin." It also sounds like "sin" which is dramatically ironic considering the witch's personality.

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Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

I have a plotbunny that demands I write a How To Train Your Dragon based fanfic. With the Madoka characters.

o.0 Namine? Wow, never thought someone would think of that. xD; I thought it was pretty obvious that she was Aqua's witch...

...Somehow, I didn't even think of Aqua. I thought of the part of eliminating darkness as a reflection of Naminé being the Nobody of a Princess of Heart, and the stained glass depicting memories thing as a reflection of Naminé's ability to tamper with memories. Still, I can see where you got Aqua, too. Weird.

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Hm. Interesting. 0_o

I think I'll use the name. But mess with the spelling a little... like, Mari, or something like that.

I like the name Mari. o3o

Like I said, I didn't really like the name; fitting as it may be, the name didn't really seem good for a Witch. Mari does sound better.

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Cin. I came up with it just now. From "Mari", a possible alternate spelling of "Mary", and a reference to Mari from Rebuild of Evangelion; Mari is first seen piloting Evangelion Provisional Unit 05. Cinque is Italian for "five", I'm fairly sure; that's also the name of the fifth Numbers Cyborg from Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. Shorten Cinque and you get "Cin." It also sounds like "sin" which is dramatically ironic considering the witch's personality.

Oh snap. I bow to you here; that's some damn good connections you made there. Jeez.

...Somehow, I didn't even think of Aqua. I thought of the part of eliminating darkness as a reflection of Naminé being the Nobody of a Princess of Heart, and the stained glass depicting memories thing as a reflection of Naminé's ability to tamper with memories. Still, I can see where you got Aqua, too. Weird.

The Knight Templar thing comes from Aqua being Eraqus's best student... and his teachings can reach into Knight Templar territory occasionally. If Aqua became a Puella Magi, I can see her adding witch-hunting (...heh, witch-hunting...) to her duties as a Keyblade Wielder with great enthusiasm.

Then, she learns the truth.

She does not take it well.

Then, the slower realization that darkness and grief can never be truly eradicated piles onto this, and she goes witch. Which is (just as I planned, kekekeke...) incredibly ironic considering the KH canon. >w>

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Like I said, I didn't really like the name; fitting as it may be, the name didn't really seem good for a Witch. Mari does sound better.

Mari it is then. ^^ So now I've made six witches. Godfrey, Gottlieb, Grendel Konstantin, Franz Wolfstan, Astrid, and Mari. Oddly enough, Astrid and Mari are the only girls...

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Oh snap. I bow to you here; that's some damn good connections you made there. Jeez.

All you need is a little Insane Troll Logic. ;3

Speaking of connections... wanna hear about my Grand Mass Guess on the connections between the Soul Anatomy of various series, including Madoka? [/totallynotSchmuckBait]